This television episode of Life in A New World is dedicated to the foreign cultures that we bring with us, how to harness their strength and avoid crisis.

When the CDC published the 2013 Youth High Risk Behavior Survey, people in the field of mental health gasped. The report showed staggering numbers of Latina teenagers either thinking of taking their lives, or actually attempting to.

The trend is not new. It is, however, tragically worsening. But why?

Dr. Rosa Gil

Dr. Rosa Gil, a national Latina teen suicide expert, explains how gaps in the acculturation patterns between the girls and their families are partially responsible.

Dr. Gil is the creator of Life is Precious, a groundbreaking program that she launched in New York City in 2009, to counter the epidemic and offer much needed help to the Latino families affected by the problem. Beatriz Coronel, the director of the program, joins her on this interview.

Later on, a field story produced during Ramadan and featuring the Indonesian Muslim community of Musjid Al-Hikmah, in Queens, shows the other side of the coin. How the cultural skill set that we bring along can help us find balance in our new American lives. Imam Shamsi Ali who leads the mosque, tells the story of two worlds in harmony.

For more on Life is Precious please visit Comunilife.org or contact Beatriz Coronel at bcoronel@comunilife.org. Life is Precious is located at 4419 Third Avenue, Bronx, N.Y. 10457 and 113 Throop Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206. A third location in Queens is scheduled to open in the winter of 2014.

For more on Masjid Al-Hikmah and Imam Shamsi Ali please visit the mosque’s website.

Watch this episode on Bronxnet TV, Cablevision C68 and Fios C34, every Friday at 10:00 am through October 3rd.